tuning stability on headless

[grimm]

I'm contemplating a new guitar and I am wondering about people's experience with tuning stability with headless models. I'm talking fixed bridge, not trem. I'm assuming it would be more stable than a model with a headstcok because there are no tuning keys to worry about and almost zero string behind the but to stretch.

I have one guitar with an evertune bridge and I love it, so I may get another one but I've never had a headless and if that can buy me almost the tuning stability of the evertune, I'd go that route.

Thanks for sharing any experience you may have.

[ThaTroll]

I've owned a few headless guitars and basses (both Kiesel and non-Kiesel) and in my experience they absolutely are more stable on average. My first headless was a Zon bass, so I initially believed the improved tuning stability was heavily influenced by the composite neck in that bass, but the headless Kiesels I have used have been very stable as well. I also find the process of tuning the bass to be slightly easier and more precise on headless as well.

I don't have any experience with the Evertune bridge for comparison though.

[helldorado]

The one comment I would make is that the Evertune is using a complex spring system to compensate for changes in tension and keep the string at the targeted pitch. This is why when you're in the middle of "zone 2" you can bend and pull the strings, but the actual note doesn't change.

A headless guitar is achieving better tuning stability by reducing the amount of excess string past your two break points on the nut and bridge. Think of it like a locking nut on a Floyd Rose, because you clamp the string immediately behind the nut, you don't have all the slack and slippage around tuners or potential string binding in the nut.

Nothing will stay in tune like Evertune because you have an active mechanism adjusting for it. But once your strings are broken in on a headless, they do stay in tune very well.

[Jack'O'Licious]

I only had my Vader for about 2 months unfortunately, but it was a 7 string with a trem. In those 2 months, once I tuned it to drop A, I never had to adjust tuning before selling it. I played it a pretty good amount of time but no shows or church services. Just recording at home and practicing and jamming at home. I did buy it new so who knows what shows and more playing would have done but to never have had to tune it in 2 months of home playing is pretty dang good if you ask me. Especially with a trem on it. I wasnt doing crazy dive bombs or dimebagging it or anything but it was good steady playing. Surprided me honestly even though I know how good of a guitar it was. Can't wait to replace it... Was looking forward to a presidents day sale but...

[kisielk]

In my experience with the trem version of the hipshot headless bridge the stability is about average compared to my other guitars. Granted currently I'm living somewhere with a lot of temperature / humidity variation in the winter while my other guitars are back at home somewhere more temperature controlled, but I find I still need to tune every time I play. I have the trem on one of my headless guitars set up for dive-only using a tremol-no as well.

[HarlowTheFish]

My Mustang is stable -- I tune it once a week or so
My Strandberg and Ibby are very stable -- I tune those once every couple weeks
My old ESP is kinda ridiculous, that could go 3 weeks easily

My CL6 though? If I need to tune it more than once a month I know the strings need to go and it needs the setup looked at.